It's good to be the King.
Taking in a regal $34.1 million on its record-breaking opening day Wednesday, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the third and final installment of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic fantasy epic, easily lorded over the competition this weekend, rightfully claiming the throne with $73.6 million* and hitting a five-day total of $125 million--the best five-day Wednesday opening of all time.
The Return of King defeats previous record holder Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace, which opened in 1999 and took a five-day total of $105.6 million, while also beating out its predecessor The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which opened the same weekend last year and managed a $102 million five-day haul. The first part of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, opened in 2001 with a five-day total of $66.1 million.
"That is amazing. The worldwide sweep of this movie is unprecedented. To have a quarter-billion-dollar gross in five days shows what a broad swath this movie cuts," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told The Associated Press. "These would be good numbers for a film to do in its entire run, but this is just the beginning."
The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers went on to take in $861 million and $921 million respectively, leading New Line Cinema to hope The Return of the King may break the $1 billion mark. "This thing is so gigantic, we really don't know where we're going," David Tuckerman, New Line's head of domestic distribution told AP Wednesday. The only film to ever earn $1 billion was Titanic, which took $1.8 billion worldwide.
Although the rest of the top 10 box office contenders paled in comparison, another newcomer to the box office race, the Julia Roberts' starrer Mona Lisa Smile, managed to take second place with $12 million. The romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give came in third with $11.5 million, while the sword-clashing The Last Samurai dropped to fourth place with $7.3 million. The conjoined twin comedy Stuck on You rounded out the top five with $5.4 million.
Other smaller fare openers this week included the delightful Calendar Girls and the tragic House of Sand and Fog.
THE TOP TEN
New Line Cinema's glorious PG-13-rated fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King premiered at No. 1 with an ESTIMATED $73.6 million in 3,703 theaters. Its $19,876 per theater average was the highest of any film playing wide this week. Since opening on Wednesday, its five-day cume is approximately $125 million.
In the final installment to the Tolkien trilogy, the good people of Middle-earth continue their fight against the evil Sauron, while Hobbit Frodo Baggins carries on his arduous quest to destroy the Ring and rid the land of its dark forces forever.
Directed by Peter Jackson, it stars Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Miranda Otto, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.
Sony Pictures' PG-13-rated drama Mona Lisa Smile opened in second place with an ESTIMATED $12 million in 2,677 theaters with a $4,483 per theater average.
The film centers on a 1950s free-spirited, novice art history professor who encourages her students at an all-female college to strive for a more enlightened futures.
Directed by Mike Newell, it stars Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles.
Given its mighty competition, Sony Pictures' PG-13-rated romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give last week's topper dropped to No. 3 in its second week with an ESTIMATED $11.5 million (-28%) at 2,677 theaters (unchanged; $4,296 per theater). The film, in which an older man dating a pretty twentysomething falls in love with her dynamic mother, has accumulated approximately $33.5 million to date.
Directed by Nancy Meyers, it stars Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Amanda Peet and Frances McDormand.
Warner Bros.' R-rated period actioner The Last Samurai, fell two spots to fourth place in its third week with an ESTIMATED $7.3 million (-48%) in 2,938 theaters (+30; $2,497 per theater average). Its cume is approximately $59 million.
Directed by Edward Zwick, it stars Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn and Timothy Spall.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.
Twentieth Century Fox's PG-13-rated comedy Stuck on You also fell two spots to No. 5 in its second week with an ESTIMATED $5.4 million (-43%) at 3,007 theaters (+4; $1,796 per theater). Its cume is approximately $17 million.
Directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, it stars Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes and Cher.
New Line Cinema's PG-rated holiday comedy Elf held onto sixth place in its seventh week with an ESTIMATED $5 million (-17%) at 2,451 theaters (-425 theaters; $2,040 per theater). Its cume is approximately $154.3 million.
Directed by Jon Favreau, it stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen.
Miramax Films' R-rated dark comedy Bad Santa held steady in seventh place in its fourth week with an ESTIMATED $4.25 million (-29%) at 2,225 theaters (-315 theaters; $1,914 per theater). Its cume is approximately $42 million.
Directed by Terry Zwigoff, it stars Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Tony Cox and John Ritter.
Buena Vista's PG-rated horror comedy The Haunted Mansion dropped three notches to No. 8 in its fourth week with an ESTIMATED $4.2 million (-32%) at 2,414 theaters (-587 theaters; $1,740 per theater). Its cume is approximately $59.1 million.
Directed by Rob Minkoff, it stars Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Nathaniel Parker, Marsha Thomason and Jennifer Tilly.
Dropping considerably, Warner Bros. PG-13-rated teen comedy Love Don't Cost a Thing tumbled five spots to take ninth place in its second week with an ESTIMATED $3.9 million (-37%) at 1,844 theaters (unchanged; $2,148 per theater). Its cume is approximately 11.4 million.
Directed by Troy Beyer, it stars Nick Cannon, Christina Millian and Steve Harvey.
Rounding out the top 10, Universal Pictures' PG-13-rated hip-hop drama Honey dropped two spots in its third week with an ESTIMATED $2.5 million (-47%) in 1,824 theaters (-148 theaters; $1,420 per theater). Its cume is approximately $23.4 million.
Directed by Bille Woodruff, it stars Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer and Lil' Romeo.
OTHERS
Buena Vista's PG-13-rated lighthearted Calendar Girls debuted in 24 theaters with an ESTIMATED $161,000, with a $6,708 per theater average.
Based on a true story, the film is about a group of older women who pose for a charity pinup calendar, become instant celebrities, and learn life lessons on their journey from England's Yorkshire Dales to Hollywood and back again.
Directed by Nigel Cole, it stars Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.
Dreamworks' PG-13-rated tragedy House of Sand and Fog opened in two theaters with an ESTIMATED $44,000,.
The film explores what happens when the American Dream goes terribly awry as a displaced Iranian colonel and an addict clash over the ownership of a small home.
Directed by Vadim Perelman, it stars Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly.
WEEKEND COMPARISON
The Top 12 films this weekend grossed an ESTIMATED $133.5 million, up a whopping 66.53 percent from last weekend's $80.2 million take but only up less than 1 percent from last year's $132.6 million.
Last year, New Line's PG-13-rated The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers opened at No. 1 with a hefty $62 million in 3,622 theaters ($17,120 per theater); in second place came Warner Bros. PG-13-rated romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice with $14.3 million in 2,755 theaters ($5,201 per theater); Sony Pictures' PG-13-rated romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan dropped to third place in its second week with $10.7 million at 2,866 theaters ($3,738 per theater).

Looks like people were ready for more Middle-earth action.
As if anyone is truly surprised, the second installment of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy dominated the box office this weekend with its continuing tale about some good-hearted Hobbits who want to destroy an evil Ring, while a bunch of nasty Middle-earth denizens try and stop them.
Over the three-day weekend, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers took in a whopping $61.5 million*, towering over the number two spot captured by the new Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant film Two Weeks Notice. The romantic comedy only managed to take in about a quarter of The Two Towers' haul at $14.4 million.
Other openers this week included another epic saga, Gangs of New York, which came in fourth with $9.1 million and the animated The Wild Thornberrys Movie, which opened strong at number six with a respectable $6.1 million.
THE TOP TEN
New Line Cinema's PG-13 rated The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers opened with an amazing three-day weekend total, ESTIMATED at $61.5 million at 3,6 22 theaters ($16, 980 per theater) and also taking in almost half of the weekend's box office (46.4 percent). Since its Wednesday, Dec. 18, opening, the film has brought in an ESTIMATED $101.5 million in total over five days.
Directed by Peter Jackson, it stars Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler.
The middle part to J.R.R. Tolkien's literary fantasy epic clearly surpassed its predecessor by nearly 25 percent. On the same weekend last year, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which also opened on the Wednesday before Christmas, took in $47.2 million in three days. The film went on to pull in $94 million after its first five days, eventually grossing $313 million in North America and about $550 million overseas, according to Variety.
The Two Towers also posted the second highest domestic Wednesday opening ever, with a healthy $26 million, behind 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace at $28.5 million, according to New Line. Fellowship of the Ring was the previous holder of the December one-day record, opening with $18.2 million.
"We are pleased and astounded," New Line distribution president David Tuckerman told Variety of The Two Towers performance.
Warner Bros.' PG-13 rated romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice opened in second place with an ESTIMATED $14.4 million at 2,755 theaters ($5, 229 per theater).
Directed by Marc Lawrence, it stars Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant.
This romantic comedy about a corporate lawyer's love/hate relationship with her boss is Bullock's second best opening in the last five films she has made. Her best opening was this summer's Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which opened with a strong $16.1 million and went on to gross $69.5 million domestically. Bullock's top film Miss Congeniality opened to the smaller tune of $10 million in December 2000 but grossed $106.8 million domestically, proving the comedic actress has the star power to open films strong--and keep them that way.
The third spot belonged to Sony Pictures' Maid in Manhattan, this season's other romantic comedy, which opened last weekend at number one. Falling 41 percent, it still managed to rake in an ESTIMATED $11 million at 2,866 theaters (+28 theaters; $3,838 per theater). It's cume to date is approximately $35.5 million.
Directed by Wayne Wang, it stars Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes.
Guess a historical period piece about 1860s New York can't beat Hobbits or romance. Miramax's highly anticipated R-rated Gangs of New York opened with a less-than-exciting ESTIMATED $9.1 million at 1,504 theaters ($6,064 per theater). Still, with the film's recent slate of Golden Globe nominations, the momentum should give Gangs a fair amount of shelf life.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz.
20th Century Fox's drum showstopper PG-13 rated Drumline continued to boom at number five with an ESTIMATED $7.6 million (-40%) at 1,837 theaters ($4,137 per theater). The little-film-that-could about an underdog high school band opened at No. 3 last week and has so far gained a respectable $22.8 million.
Directed by Charles Stone, it stars Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana and Orlando Jones.
Another new flick on the block this weekend was Paramount Pictures' PG-rated The Wild Thornberrys Movie, which opened in sixth place with an ESTIMATED $6.1 million at 3,012 theaters ($2,025 per theater).
Based on the hit Nickelodeon TV show, the animated film about a family of wildlife documentary filmmakers, is directed by Cathy Malkasian and Jeff McGrath and includes the vocal talents of Lacey Chabert, Tim Curry, Rupert Everett, Lynn Redgrave and Marisa Tomei.
Chortling in at number seven is Disney's PG-13 rated The Hot Chick, taking in an ESTIMATED $4.5 million at 2,217 theaters ($2,030 per theater). Dropping 39 percent, the body-switching comedy bowed last week in fifth place and has made approximately $13.7 million thus far.
Directed by Tom Brady, it stars Rob Schneider, Anna Faris and Rachel McAdams.
Warner Bros. PG-rated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets dropped a couple of notches to No. 8 with an ESTIMATED $4.45 million (-30%) at 2,750 theaters (-275 theaters; $1,620 per theater). The second movie about our fab boy wizard and his adventures at Hogwarts has managed to eke out approximately $228.9 million in its six weeks at the box office. Not too shabby.
Directed by Chris Columbus, the film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Kenneth Branagh, Jason Isaacs, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith.
The once-popular franchise seems to have lost its steam. Paramount Pictures PG-13 rated Star Trek: Nemesis continued its disappointing run, slipping from its bow at second place last weekend to ninth with an ESTIMATED $4.4 million (-76%) at 2,711 theaters ($1,623 per theater). Its cume is approximately $26.4 million.
Directed by Stuart Baird, it stars Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy, Ron Perlman, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden and Marina Sirtis.
Tenth place belongs to Bond, James Bond. MGM's megahit, PG-13 rated Die Another Day, continued reaping the rewards with an ESTIMATED $4 million, dropping 49 percent at 2,075 theaters (-1,302 theaters; $1,928 per theater). One of the highest-grossing Bond films ever, its taken in approximately $138.4 million so far.
Directed by Lee Tamahori, it stars Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens and Rick Yune.
OTHER OPENINGS
Three of the higher-profile independent films of the season opened in limited theaters this weekend, including Denzel Washington's Antwone Fisher, Spike Lee's 25th Hour and Narc starring Ray Liotta.
Fox Searchlight's PG-13 rated Antwone Fisher opened Thursday in 15 theaters at an ESTIMATED $217,500 ($14,500 per theater). The film, about a man struggles to come to terms with his abusive childhood, is directed by the Oscar-winning Washington, who also stars along with newcomer Derek Luke. Fisher will open wide Jan. 1.
Buena Vista's R-rated 25th Hour also opened Thursday in 5 theaters and took in an ESTIMATED $109,811 ($21, 962 per theater). The intense drama focuses on a drug dealer's last 24 hours before he goes to prison and how he chooses to spend it. Directed by Spike Lee, it stars Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson and Brian Cox. The film opens wide Jan. 10.
Paramount's Narc opened in 6 theaters Friday, making an ESTIMATED $66,000 ($11,000 per theater). The gritty drama stars Ray Liotta and Jason Patric as two undercover narcotics detectives after a cop killer.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
The top 12 films this weekend earned $132 million, up 46.4 percent from last weekend.
This time last year, New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was number one at the box office with $47.2 million, while Warner Bros. Ocean's Eleven came in second with $14.7 million and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius third with $13.8 million.
*All estimates as reported by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 6, 2000 -- The only loud noise at this weekend's box office was Dimension Films' "Scream 3," opening to a blockbuster estimated $35.20 million.
"Scream 3" accounted for about 42% of the ticket sales for key films over the weekend, living up to industry expectations reported by Hollywood.com on Friday. With its first-choice tracking score of 31% going into the weekend, the Wes Craven film was seen as likely to open to at least $30 million.
Dimension, Miramax's genre label, launched "Scream 3" to an estimated $35.20 million at 3,467 theaters ($10,152 per theater). The film's theater count set a new record for wide release, topping last summer's 3,342 theaters for Warner Bros.' "Wild Wild West." Dimension said there were 5,522 prints of the film in the marketplace.
An indication of how little business everything else in the marketplace did is that "Scream 3's" gross was about equal to the combined gross for the next 11 films on the chart.
"This is the biggest opening for Miramax and/or Dimension in the history of the company," Miramax Senior Vice President, Marketing, David Kaminow said Sunday morning. "It's the biggest February opening ever, and it actually looks like the biggest opening for any movie between January through April."
The previous record-holder was Universal's Jim Carrey starrer 'Liar Liar' at $31.4 million back in March 1997.
Who went to see the "Scream 3"?
"In terms of audience demo, it's our core 18-24," Kaminow said. "But what's interesting is the slight demographic shift in terms of the people who were 18-24 when the first movie came out four years ago (and) have followed us on the path, so we have a segment (of the audience) that's also a little higher in the 25-29 bracket than we've seen previously.
"It indicates to us that the audience has grown as the movie's grown."
Asked where it could wind up in terms of its domestic theatrical gross, Kaminow replied, "The first two did (over) $100 million. It would be wonderful if it did. This is a great start, and we'll see what happens."
"Scream 3's" per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide or limited release last weekend.
Directed by Wes Craven, "Scream 3" was produced by Cathy Konrad, Kevin Williamson and Marianne Maddalena. Its screenplay by Ehren Kruger is based on characters created by Williamson. It was executive produced by Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Cary Granat and Andrew Rona.
The film reunites Craven with David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox Arquette and Liev Schreiber. Also starring are Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy, Emily Mortimer, Parker Posey, Deon Richmond, Kelly Rutherford and Patrick Warburton.
"Scream 2" opened in first place the weekend of Dec. 12-14, 1997, to $32.9 million at 2,663 theatres ($12,354 per theater). Its second weekend gross was $13.9 million, down 58%. It went on to gross about $101.3 million in domestic theaters.
The first "Scream" opened in fourth place the weekend of Dec. 20-22, 1996, to $6.4 million at 1,413 theaters ($4,497 per theater). It wound up grossing about $103 million in domestic theaters.
It was a long way down to second place, where Universal's R-rated, critically acclaimed Oscar contender "The Hurricane" was holding well, up one notch in its sixth week with a solid estimated $4.91 million (-14%) at 2,148 theaters (+13 theatres, $2,285 per theater). Its total is approximately $37.5 million.
Directed by Norman Jewison, it stars Denzel Washington as wrongly imprisoned boxing champion Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.
"The word of mouth is exceptional on this film," Universal Distribution President Nikki Rocco said Sunday morning. "We were No. 3 for two weekends. Now we're No. 2.
"Granted, it's a soft marketplace except for one film, but the word of mouth does that with a picture. It will linger and linger around through the Academy Awards season."
Columbia's PG-rated family comedy "Stuart Little" finished third, up one peg in its eighth week, continuing to hold strongly with an OK estimated $4.80 million (unchanged) at 2,702 theaters (-339 theaters, $1,776 per theater). Its total is approximately $128.7 million, heading for $140 million or more in domestic theaters.
Directed by Rob Minkoff, it stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and Jonathan Lipnicki.
"I'd say at least $140 million," Sony Pictures Releasing President Jeff Blake said Sunday morning, when asked where the film would wind up in domestic theaters. "For the first time, we're going to have some company in the kids' market next Friday (with BV/Disney's animated "The Tigger Movie" and Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies' PG-rated live action Chevy Chase comedy "Snow Day"), so it will be interesting to see how we hold up.
"Starting out on Dec. 17, at the point when 'Toy Story 2' was still strong, we managed to beat them. We sort of had our own way with the kids between Dec. 17 and today. It will be interesting to see what happens when (the two new family-appeal films arrive Friday). I think, probably, what will happen is they'll do very well, but we'll continue to play out our run. I can't see it being any less than $140 million -- maybe into the $140 millions. A lovely success story."
The film is also looking strong on the international front.
"The best news for us is every market we've opened internationally has been sensational," Blake said. "So we really are hoping to even do better internationally. The real number on this one will probably be about $300 million worldwide, which is very exciting."
New Line's R-rated urban-appeal hit comedy sequel "Next Friday" fell two rungs to fourth place in its fourth week with a still decent estimated $4.28 million (-25%) at 1,420 theaters (+85 theaters, $3,011 per theater). Its total is approximately $45.5 million.
Directed by Steve Carr, it was written by, stars and was produced by Ice Cube.
There was a close race for fifth place between Destination Films' R-rated psychological thriller "Eye Of the Beholder" and Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment's R-rated death-row drama "The Green Mile."
As was the case last week when "Eye" opened, Destination did not report an estimated gross by mid-morning Sunday, making it difficult to calculate which film would take fifth place. Other studios estimated Destination's gross at $3.89 million to $4.1 million.
"Eye," which placed first last week, would need about $4.1 million to finish in fifth place in its second week. That would represent a very discouraging drop of about 30% at 1,751 theaters (theater count unchanged, $2,342 per theater). Its total is approximately $11.9 million.
Directed by Stephan Elliott, it stars Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd. Destination reportedly picked up the independently made film for domestic release for about $4 million.
In contrast, "The Green Mile," which was fifth last week, is a blockbuster success in its ninth week, holding very well with an estimated $4.02 million (unchanged) at 2,335 theaters (-36 theaters, $1,719 per theater). Its total is approximately $120.4 million, heading for $140 million in domestic theaters.
Written and directed by Frank Darabont, it stars Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan.
"We've been tracking it from day one against 'A Few Good Men,'" Warner Bros. Distribution President Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "'A Few Good Men' after this exact weekend (in its run) had $119.8 million. They ended up at $141 million. We're definitely getting close (in terms of projected domestic theatrical total) to $140 million now.
"I raised my estimate last week to $136 million. I'm going to pop it again to about $140 million. It has great legs. You see what happens to it every week."
DreamWorks' PG-rated sci-fi fantasy comedy "Galaxy Quest" continued in seventh place in its seventh week, holding nicely with an estimated $3.30 million (-3%) at 1,939 theaters (-270 theaters, $1,702 per theater). Its total is approximately $62.9 million, heading for $70 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Dean Parisot, it stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman.
Miramax's PG-13-rated teen-appeal romantic comedy "Down To You" fell two pegs to eighth place in its third week with a dull estimated $2.90 million (-28%) at 2,003 theaters (+26 theaters, $1,447 per theater). Its total is approximately $16.8 million.
Written and directed by Kris Isacsson, it stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles.
Columbia's R-rated drama "Girl, Interrupted" slipped one post to ninth in its seventh week with a slower estimated $2.60 million (-20%) at 1,863 theaters (-72 theaters, $1,396 per theater). Its total is approximately $25 million.
Directed by James Mangold, "Girl" stars Winona Ryder and recent Golden Globe winner Angelina Jolie.
Rounding out the Top Ten was Paramount's R-rated drama "The Talented Mr. Ripley," down one peg in its seventh week with a calm estimated $2.50 million (-10%) at 1,819 theaters (-323 theaters, $1,350 per theater). Its total is approximately $75.6 million, heading for about $80 million in domestic theaters.
Written and directed by Anthony Minghella, it stars Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Cate Blanchett.
OTHER OPENINGS
Last weekend also saw the arrival of Buena Vista/Hollywood's R-rated black comedy adventure "Gun Shy," placing 22nd with a discouraging estimated $0.70 million at 296 theaters ($2,367 per theater).
Written and directed by Eric Blakeney, it stars Liam Neeson, Oliver Platt and Sandra Bullock.
Fine Line Features' R-rated suspense/dark comedy "Simpatico" kicked off in 28th place to a soft estimated $0.43 million at 256 theatres ($1,680 per theater).
Based on a play by Sam Shepard, it was directed by Matthew Warchus and stars Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener and Albert Finney.
The PG-13 boxing drama "Knockout," a CEO release, arrived in 34th place and was knocked flat on its face with an estimated $0.072 million at 110 theaters ($655 per theater).
Directed by Lorenzo Doumani, it stars Sophia-Adella Hernandez.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
Last weekend saw no national sneak previews.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, last weekend saw USA Films R-rated drama and critics' darling "Topsy-Turvy" go wider in its eighth week, placing 21st with a quiet estimated $0.69 million at 130 theaters (+59 theaters, $5,285 per theater). Its total is approximately $2.3 million.
Written and directed by Mike Leigh, it stars Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner.
USA Films' reissue of the PG-rated suspense drama "Rear Window" expanded in its third week, placing 36th with an OK estimated $0.063 million at 14 theaters (+11 theaters, $4,475 per theater). Its total is approximately $0.2 million.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Robert Harris and James Katz restored the 1954 film classic.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend - took in approximately $85.28 million, up about 13.21% from $75.33 million for the comparable weekend last year.
This weekend's key film gross was up about 40.85% compared with the previous weekend, when key films grossed $60.55 million.
Last year, Paramount's opening week of "Payback" was first with $21.22 million at 2,720 theaters ($7,802 per theater), and Miramax's second week of "She's All That" was second with $11.65 million at 2,629 theaters ($4,447 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $32.9 million. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $40.1 million.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES
Based on business by key films, the weekend's top six distributors were the following:
Miramax (Miramax, Dimension) was first with three films ("Scream 3," "Down to You" and "The Cider House Rules") grossing an estimated $40.10 million or 47% of the market.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia, TriStar) was second with three films ("Stuart Little," "Girl, Interrupted" and "The End Of the Affair") grossing an estimated $8.50 million or 10% of the market.
Universal was third with three films ("Isn't She Great," "Snow Falling on Cedars" and "The Hurricane") grossing an estimated $6.24 million or 7.3% of the market.
Buena Vista (Touchstone and Disney) was fourth with five films ("Play it to the Bone," "Toy Story 2," "Fantasia 2000," "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" and "Bicentennial Man") grossing an estimated $5.94 million or 7% of the market.
New Line was fifth with two films ("Next Friday" and "Magnolia") grossing an estimated $5.55 million or 6.5% of the market.
Warner Bros. was sixth with two films ("The Green Mile" and "Any Given Sunday") grossing an estimated $5 million or 5.9% of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES
(11) "Toy Story 2"/BV/Disney: Theaters: 1,618 (-178) Gross: $2.20 million (-6%) Average per theater: $1,360 Total: $237 million
(12) "The Cider House Rules"/Miramax: Theaters: 834 (-9) Gross: $2 million (+14%) Average per theater: $2,398 Total: $20.7 million
(13) "Fantasia 2000"/BV/Disney: Theatres: 54 (0) (all IMAX in U.S.) Gross: $1.70 million (-8%) Average per theater: $31,481 Total: $24 million (worldwide)
(14) "Angela's Ashes"/Paramount: Theaters: 614 (+3) Gross: $1.55 million (-15%) Average per theater: $2,524 Total: $8.6 million
(15) "Magnolia"/New Line: Theaters: 829 (-257) Gross: $1.27 million (-20%) Average per theater: $1,535 Total: $19.3 million
(16) "The End of the Affair" Theaters: 681 (-7) Gross: $1.10 million (-6%) Average per theater: $1,615 Total: $8.5 million
(17) "Any Given Sunday"/Warner Bros.: Theaters: 1,557 (-455) Gross: $0.99 million (-31%) Average per theater: $633 Total: $73.8 million
(18) "Play it to the Bone/BV: Theaters: 1,249 (-339) Gross: $0.76 million (-55%) Average per theater: $610 Total: $7.7 million
(19) "Bicentennial Man"/BV: Theaters: 861 (-341) Gross: $0.75 million (-24%) Average per theater: $870 Total: $56.7 million
(20) "Snow Falling On Cedars"/Universal: Theaters: 800 (-200) Gross: $0.71 million (-21%) Average per theater: $890 Total: $12.8 million
(21) "Topsy-Turvy"/USA Films: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(22) GUN SHY/BV/Hollywood: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)
(23) "Supernova"/MGM: Theaters: 1,135 (-936) Gross: $0.66 million (-46%) Average per theater: $585 Total: $13.3 million (24) "Isn't She Great"/Universal: Theatres: 750 (0) Gross: $0.62 million (-55%) Average per theater: $820 Total: $2.4 million
(25) "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo"/BV: Theaters: 739 (-404) Gross: $0.53 million (-40%) Average per theater: $710 Total: $63 million
(26) "The World Is Not Enough"/MGM: Theaters: 842 (-15) Gross: $0.52 million (-7%) Average per theater: $620 Total: $125.1 million
(27) "Anna and the King"/Fox: Theaters: 568 (-182) Gross: $0.48 million (-19%) Average per theater: $845 Total: $37.6 million
(28) "Simpatico"/Fine Line: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)
(29) "Being John Malkovich"/USA Films: Theaters: 207 (-26) Gross: $0.31 million (no change) Average per theater: $1,505 Total: $21.1 million
(30) "Man On the Moon"/Universal: Theaters: 481 (-143) Gross: $0.24 million (-31%) Average per theater: $505 Total: $34.2 million
(31) "The Bone Collector"/Universal: Theaters: 325 (-7) Gross: $0.15 million (-23%) Average per theater: $465 Total: $65.7 million
(32) "End of Days"/Universal: Theaters: 343 (+5) Gross: $0.15 million (-20%) Average per theat er: $440 Total: $66 million
(33) "Titus"/Fox Searchlight: Theaters: 17 (-1) Gross: $0.11 million (-20%) Average per theater: $6,653 Total: $0.8 million
(34) "My Dog Skip"/Warner Bros. Theatres: 30 (0) Gross: $0.11 million (-3%) Average per theater: $3,595 Total: $0.4 million
(35) "Knockout"/CEA: (see OTHER OPENINGS above) (
36) "Rear Window" /USA: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(37) "The Cup"/Fine Line: Theaters: 4 (0) Gross: $0.031 million (-13%) Average per theater: $7,673 Total: $0.083 million
(38) "The Big Tease"/Warner Bros. Theaters: 4 (0) Gross: $0.019 million (-35%) Average per theater: $4,723 Total: $0.059 million